The Rise And Other Stories
by Illikas Rager
Summary: This book has some stuff that links to my inferno series, and others that tell of a Illikas with different origin, and even more others that are just there for being there. Rated T for Violence.
1. (Don't Fear) The Pumpkin Patch

(Don't Fear) the Pumpkin Patch

By Illikas Marshall Rager

I drifted off to sleep after one long-ass day…

I heard…chanting…

_Is this life?_

_Is this death?_

_He has a knife,_

_As big as a scythe!_

Then came the announcement…it sounded something like this:

All hail his regal apparel!

The most brutal pumpkin ever to walk the pumpkin patch!

Behold,

**PUMPKIN CHAMPION GOURDIAN!**

Then came his voice,

Followed by the chanting,

_Is this life?_

_Is this death?_

**This is not life or death,**

**It is a simply a patch with bad breath.**

_You've got a knife,_

_As big as a scythe!_

**I may have a knife**

**That is as big as scythe,**

**But the best kind of weapon, my brethren, is my voice**

**And that is what is poised.**

I awoke to banging my head on my headboard while screaming.

That's it, less pumpkin pie before bed from now on!

**_The end_**


	2. Emon & Sophakus

Emon & sophakus

By Illikas Marshall Rager

We are the avatars of death and decay. We are the servants of his deathliness. We are what makes up his weapon. Without us, it would be any normal scythe. My name is Sophakus, sister of Emon. **Over 500 millennia ago…**

**Me and my brother were scouting out caves for our mother and the tribe. I was eighteen years of age, while my younger brother was 14 years of age. **

**When we found our fifth cave, Emon asked, "sister, what is that?" I looked up at the cave entrance and said, "what do you mean? There's nothing there except darkness." Emon snorted and told me to look closer, which I did. What I found was that the darkness seemed to be…pulsing…**

**"****HA! Gotcha! There's nothing there at all, sister!" I looked down at my brother, and said, "I don't know, this place gives me the creeps…" "well, we have to go in there for the tribe's survival. Come on, sister!" with that, he ran in. "EMON! WAIT!" but I knew there was no stopping him. Once he decides to run off and do something fast, he does it. He never even trips, which is remarkable for someone of our race. So I decided to go in after him. **

**What I found when I got in there was…amazing, to say the least. I saw someone up ahead… "Why hello there. Welcome to my hut, sophakus! Your brother has already gone into the other room and found a place by the fire. Make yourself at home. It's my treat."**

**I was so surprised at what he had managed to say in four short sentences, I questioned him right there and then. "what do you mean? What's a 'hut'?" "a hut? What do you mean…oh yes, that's right, this is the year 497,988 B.C. isn't it… well, my dear, a hut is like a permanent tent, except with a…um…closed top. Yes, that's it." I was still rather confused, but I decided to just play along. "How do you know my name?" "oh that one's easy! I'm like what they call a 'guardian angel'. a spirit, if you will." I didn't understand how he could do that, but I just moved on to the next question. "what did you mean by 'room'? and just how are you managing a fire in this…hut?" "Tsk, tsk, tsk, so impatient you are, not to mention curious. A room is part of the hut. And I'm managing a fire by means of…well, I can't really tell you that, otherwise we wouldn't be here right now." Mother spirit, this man was providing many more questions than answers needed! "so…my brother is…in the room next to this one? Is that right?" "Now you're getting the hang of it!**

**I asked where the entrance was to this…next room…and he pointed to a gap in-between the walls. I moved rather awkward through it, staring at him all the while. "Brother…?" "Oh hi, sister! This place is great!" We should get out of here." "no way! The nice man even has a magical cold air device that keeps food fresh! And he has this thing called a 'TV', and he even has what's called 'video games'!" EMON! Out. Now." He grunted and moaned, "fiiiiiiine." Just as we were leaving, the man said to me, "I don't believe you know the full scope of what's going on here, Sophakus. Visit me tomorrow. I have to tell you something VERY important." I was very perplexed by this, for some reason.**

**That night was hard to sleep in. I had many questions yet to be answered, and that man hadn't helped them one bit. As I drifted off to sleep, I saw someone in a torn, pitch-black robe, with a curved blade connected to a stick almost as black as his robe. I couldn't see his face, for his hood was covering it. He turned around and said, "my brothers, I must leave for none other than our lord. You will have to go without me on this journey." "Kill well, brother." With that, he came towards me…**

**Then I woke up. It was broad daylight, and the sun was shining in my eyes. I ran over to the cave where the man lived as fast as I could. I NEEDED to talk to him, for I know that dream was a vision of some sort…**

**I went in, and I saw him running around frantically, as if he was looking for something. "ah, there you are, Sophakus. I was worried you weren't going to show. Quickly now, sit. There isn't much time." "What's happening to me? Last night I had a vivid dream of-" "The four horsemen? Yes, I know." I was still getting used to his ability to raise so many questions in just a few sentences. "…The four Who-men?" "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TELLING ME YOU DON'T KNOW? Surely, you must have some sort of legend in your tribe?" I thought long And hard About this, then I blurted out, "legend mortis!" (reader's note: try and translate those two words…) "Yes, well, you and your brother are in grave danger from him. You must get your brother so we can talk together." "…ok…" With that, I rushed back to the village.**

**When I arrived at the village I gasped at what I saw. The village was burning! Quickly I tried to save as many people as I Could, but to no avail. All I could save was my brother. The rest of the village burned down to the ground. I had to get back to the old man's cave, for night was quickly approaching.**

**I felt so crushed by the loss of everyone I knew besides my brother. Whoever did this was going to pay. With their life. I finally got to the cave entrance, but there was someone already waiting at the entrance. "So good to finally meet you, Sophakus." He said. I finally recognized him. It was HIM! The man in my dream! "You…You killed them, didn't you?" "Please specify that. I've killed a great many people in my un-life." "My family. Friends. My whole tribe!" "Oh yes. Those idiots. Yes, I'm afraid they just simply fell in the way of my plans." "I'll kill you!" "You? destroy me? Hahahaha! Don't make me laugh, kid. You're without hope. In fact, I need you for something." A voice spoke up in the background. "I'm afraid I can't let that happen, ****_brother._****" A Sword pointed at him, and the old man stepped out of hiding. "You've run rampant in the universe for far too long." The dream-man laughed at this and said, "You just ****_NEVER _****give up, do you?" The dream-man swung his odd-shaped triangle stick to try and kill the old man, who only parried this with the sword. The dream-man sighed and said, "Just try. You'll get yours." "We once battled together. But then you betray a single order, and you turn into an exiled abomination." Said the old man. **

**At this point, Emon woke up and fell to the ground, for I could not carry him anymore. The Dream-man must've forgotten we were even there, because he turned around, looked at us, and smashed his stick into the ground, which caused the very earth below him into a void of darkness. **

**This is the last thing we remember, for when the old man tried to **

**get close at all, he instead let out an agonizing screech as he burst apart in an implosion. I charged after the dream-man with Emon, but as Emon soon found out, it was killing him slowly like a pool of tar. He refused to get out however, and he tried to reach the dream-man instead. I leaped in the air towards the dream-man, and I grabbed his stick, which merged me and Emon with it like it had a mind of its own. **

**The last thing I saw…was the dream-man being dragged into the void, dying as it happened. "You cannot kill me! I am the most powerful of all the horsemen!" he screamed, to which I replied, "Serves…you…right." **

**_THE End_**


	3. The Time Keeper & The Dream Keeper

**The Time Keeper**

**The Dream Keeper**

**By Illikas Marshall Rager**

**The Timekeeper & the Dream keeper are like gods. However, they cannot do much in a battle. Also, they control entirely different domains . Timekeeper controls Time & space, while Dream keeper controls dreams & twisted realities. Herein lays their tale:**

**Background: Dreams, Time, A beautiful lie. (Repeat until next background verse comes in.)**

**Lead: Dream keeper once was a very handsome man,**

**A handsome man that had a pan,**

**A magical pan that turned into a helm!**

**Timekeeper once lived in his own realm…**

**Background: Dreams. Time. A horrible rhyme.****(Repeat until next background verse comes in.) **

**Lead: Timekeeper was drinking a cup of thyme,**

**The end was nigh,**

**He knew that Dream keeper had fought for days,**

**Days that turned into nights.**

**Background: Dreams. Time. Tastes like wine. (Repeat until next background verse comes in.)**

**Lead: The pine of many a dime,**

**Dream keeper found Timekeeper at last,**

**"****Hast thou fought for many a day? Thou seem tired.**

**How would thou thank me if I turned thee into a god?"**

**Background: Dreams. Time. A beautiful lie.**

**THE END**


	4. The Rise

The Rise

By Illikas Marshall Rager

September 21st, 2013: I woke up. It was a nice sunny day in autumn. I lay on the ground, deep in the thought. _It's good to be back_, I thought to myself.

October 8th, 2013: I was hunting a boar or two when I realized I didn't even have any sort of weapon besides my bare hands. _Oh well_, I thought.

October 30th, 2013: Halloween. It's Halloween, and I don't have anything to enjoy but a hoard of boar meat. Not my old servants. No time with my wife. No time to taunt my sister in the temple. Nothing.

"You look awfully miserable on such a nice night."

I looked up. "Who are you?" I asked. It was a man. "Just a citizen concerned about another citizen's well-being." He replied. I smiled.

"Well, I'm glad to see there are people who are concerned for a low-life like me." I said. "You certainly don't LOOK like a low-life. At least not to me." He said. I realize nowadays that at the time, he was trying to soothe my disappointment, although it wasn't really working.

"I'm Shelly Howitzer. And you are…?" "Hmmph." I responded. ""Come on, you must have a name…" "Well, I don't give away my name so easily, Shelly. However, I will tell you my first name. It's Illikas.

November 23rd, 2013: I had gotten a few ways to contact Shelly, because he must've thought of me as a friend or something. He had introduced several of his friends to me inbetween Halloween and today.

Harry Farjorn. A man who was very unattached from society until a few months ago, when Shelly found him asleep on a bench and jokingly asked if he wanted to be homeless.

Azul Tien. A man who was raised on the streets but couldn't fight to save his life. First met Shelly when he saved him from a group of crocodiles in a swampy region.

Eddie Arden. A great fighter with a great mind, and loved to play around. First met Shelly when he saved him from an attempted robbery.

December 20th, 2013: "Come on, Illikas. Smile! It's the holidays!" Shelly exclaimed.

"Illikas, Come on. You gotta just hold a pose. That's all." Said Eddie.

It was time for the traditional Christmas cards. I hated Christmas, and I hated cards.

"Who are we even sending these to?" I asked in irritation. Shelly smiled and said, "Each other, of course!" I sighed. "Alright, I'll do it…" Everyone rejoiced.

January 7th, 2014: It's funny, how people grow on you. You learn from mistakes. But even when you learn, you don't necessarily gain many friends. What you normally gain is sadness. My attitude has changed much over the past 3 months because of Shelly.

Friendship is something good, something not to be wasted, something…enjoyable.

February 3rd, 2014: "Who's this, Shelly?" I asked him as I bumped into him one day. "Just an old friend that I'm catching up with." He replied. I looked at the man curiously, studied him up and down. "He then bowed and said, "How do you do? My name is Blokra Nauticus. And you are…?"

"The name's Illikas. Illikas Marshall Rager."

(No Further Entries).

THE END


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